This invention relates to a system for providing reminders of upcoming events, and particularly for providing such reminders to users' mobile devices.
Television viewers can choose from an unprecedented range of programming, often scattered across over a hundred different television channels. This breadth of options can make it difficult for a viewer to find programs that interest him the most, and he may wind up watching only mediocre programs. This can be especially frustrating to a viewer who has seen an advertisement for program that promises to be especially interesting, but who winds up missing the program after forgetting when it starts. Even if a viewer remembers the program just a few minutes late, he may already have missed crucial expository scenes and may decide that the rest of the program is not worth watching.
This wealth of programming choices, and the difficulty of keeping them straight, is also a challenge for broadcasters and other programmers. It is difficult enough, in an age flooded with advertising, to win a viewer's interest in an upcoming program. But even if a viewer is interested in watching the program, he may forget to do so, and the advertisement will ultimately have failed.
Different solutions to these problems have been proposed, but they face disadvantages of their own. For example, a programmer may simply take out more advertising, building up to the airing of the program. This can be expensive, however, and may only be cost effective for programs of general interest likely to amass a large audience. In another solution, many viewers use video cassette recorders or digital video recorders. Such viewers can program these devices to record an upcoming program, but that requires that the viewer have this ability to program the device, and that he remember to do so when the device is at hand. A viewer may, for example, see a billboard or other advertisement for a program while he is driving, or on a train, and is unable to program the device. Some digital video recorders can automatically record programs that the recorder judges may be of interest to the viewer. If, however, the recorder does not recognize that the program is of interest to the viewer, it may not record the program. Furthermore, such recorders can be expensive, and they often require payment of a monthly service fee. Moreover, with the advent of satellite radio, it is becoming increasingly likely that individuals may be interested in particular radio programs, which may not be readily recorded on a video recorder.